Located at the mouth of the Chaliyar river, Beypore
one of the prominent ports and fishing harbours of ancient Kerala was an important
trade and maritime centre. during the days of the early Arab and Chinese travelers
and later the Europeans. Soon after its prominence as a port and trade centre,
Beypore slowly began to flourish as a centre for shipbuilding, which was in
great demand by merchants from Western Asia. The boat-building yard at Beypore
is famous for its traditional construction of the Uru or the Arabian trading
vessel. This tradition of shipbuilding is nearly 1,500 years old, and the craftsmanship
of the workers here is exceptional.
Traditionally, Arabs constitute the major chunk of buyers. They place orders
with their specifications and needs. Unlike modern day shipbuilding involving
the development of blue print and machinery to facilitate manufacturing of ships,
here, at Beypore everything is conceived in the minds of the workers, who as
a team execute the highly intricate woodwork to perfection. It is an amazing
aspect if one is to observe the manner in which the Uru takes shape with minimum
sophistication in production. The entire team observes certain work ethics,
of which discipline is the foremost. A visit to this historic place is a must
in order to have a close look at some of the deft fingers and alert minds, measuring
and fixing different parts of the ship to perfection.
Nearby attractions in Beypore include the fishing harbour, hardly a kilometer
from the shipbuilding yard and Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary, which is about 7 kms
from Beypore. The Kadalundi estuary is considered as a birdwatchers paradise,
due to the variety of local as well as migratory bird life. Migratory birds
flock here in large numbers during February-March.
The sanctuary is spread over a group of islands in a scenic area surrounded
by hillocks where the Kadalundi River flows into the Arabian Sea. The place
is locally known as Kadalundi Nagaram.
Getting there:
Nearest Railway Station: about 10 kms from Kozhikode town.
Nearest Airport: Karipur International Airport, about 23 kms from Kozhikode
town.
Beypore Beach
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